How many different types of foods do you eat per day, or per week? You can do a food diary

for yourself to better understand how varied your diet is. You may find that you eat similar

foods for breakfast, lunch and or dinner. There is an assumption that the average person in

a Westernised country eats only 30 different foods per week, while more traditional and

cultured (and healthier) populations eat 70 different types of food!

Why is this so important? Well, eating the same foods repeatedly can limit the amount and

variety of nutrients we are consuming. We want to be eating a wide variety of foods for

many important reasons, which is why we see different food guidelines from different

countries recommending foods from different food groups, and within each food group,

recommending having a variety of foods.

Eating different types of foods every day is beneficial for us to gain the different nutrients

our bodies need to keep us healthy and thriving. Different foods contain different types and

amounts of nutrients, which is why including a variety of foods from the different food

groups is so important 1 . In addition, the more diverse, whole plant-based foods you eat, the

more you’re likely to boost the diversity of the gut microbes that live inside your gut. The

more diverse your microbes are, the more strength your gut has to help your immune

system fight diseases.

How can you implement this? As an example, fruits and vegetables provide us with many

micronutrients which help keep our body healthy, but the key is the variety of fruit and

vegetables we are eating. As an example, not all fruit and vegetables have Vitamin A, and

not all have Vitamin B. The more colours of fruits and vegetables we eat, the more we are

likely to consume a complete profile of essential nutrients. It is also important to know that

although fruit and vegetables are often high in vitamin C which helps keep our immune

system strong, other foods such as bread, rice, meat, fish etc, don’t have this Vitamin C 2 .

Moreover, iron from meat is better absorbed into our blood when we are also having a food

with Vitamin C. This means that unless you are eating different foods from different food

groups, it would be hard to ensure a complete nutrition profile that is readily absorbed in

the blood, to keep you healthy and full of energy.

So how can you include variety of foods into your diet? Eat BOKA meals… easy! When

selecting your order from BOKA’s delicious menu, try selecting a variety of meals each week,

using the weekly subscription. Or, BOKA can do it for you, you can select one of the meal

packs which includes every meat dish on the weekly menu. Taking the stress out of simple,

healthy and convenient eating is what BOKA is best at doing.

1 Better Health Channel. (2021). Healthy Eating and Diet.

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/healthy-eating

2 Harvard T.H Chan. (2022) Vitamin C. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-c/